Eco-Friendly Christmas Cards

the card is from etsy and the picture is from the amazing and talented Jenny GG

At this moment in the year, we start shopping for our Christmas card. Many of us send each other Christmas cards to wish friends peace and joy, to celebrate the holidays, and to show off their family in totally not posed pictures of family togetherness. I can joke, but I am as guilty as anyone of sending these cards and being so happy to receive them. It is equally nice to be wished happiness and to see how happy people I care about are. Christmas cards may be cheesy, but they are also awesome.

Even better, if you are trying to have a more eco-friendly holiday season, then the Christmas cards create a pretty obvious opportunity to make some positive changes! This is an opportunity to save trees, that keep our Earth cooler, our air cleaner, and our view prettier.

Think about how many trees must go down for all that holiday cheer in the mail- probably more worth it than the trees that come down for toilet paper. But if you can celebrate the holidays by being a steward and preserving God's creation, why wouldn't you do it? If the holiday really isn't about consumerism, we need to approach it with the spirit of stewardship first.

I know I as a Christian think even more about my role as a steward this time of year- how can I approach giving gifts in a way that pleases God? If giving gifts to each other is a symbolic repetition of God giving us the gift of his son, how can we do it in a way that takes care of his creation? Those questions resonate even when the gift is as small as a card.\

If you want to be a good steward this Christmas, recycled cards make so much sense. You can save trees from being cut down while still sending your love to others. The answer here is simple, though it might cost you more money.

The good news? Recycled card options are EVERYWHERE, they just may not be where you would look first. Skip Shutterfly and Tiny Prints. Tiny prints weirdly comes up when you search for eco-friendly Christmas cards, but they aren't, so that is an infuriating scam. They don't use any recycled paper as far as I can see. That being said, so many other places do.

Let's do this, people! Enough of these virgin tree shenanigans:

Green Field Paper Co

Green Field Paper Co is now my first stop for paper good browsing. Not only do they have great designs, they also feature more types of eco-friendly statonary than anyone. When you see just how many creative and eenviromentaly responsible options are out there, it's hard not to question why all paper companies don't try this route.My favorite- cards specifically made out of recycled junk mail! That is genius. All the other cars need to step it up. They also have plantable cards, ornaments, and gift cards (these are made of recycled paper and have seeds in them- bonus, they are all made in San Diego). Seriously, look here before you buy a box of cards anywhere else.

Paper Culture

Paper Culture is another gem- a perfect first stop if you want a cheesy/wonderful photo card (don't be ashamed; I love them too). Paper Culture recognizes their carbon footprint, and they try to offset it by using 100% post-consumer paper for their cards and by planting a tree for every order they sell. The Arbor Day Foundation does it for every card (so significantly more depending on your order), but these cards gave a little more design to them and have photocard options, so they may better fit your vision. Their designs vary from bright and busy to minimalist and chic, so you are sure to find something you like. Plus, they don't cost any more than those photo cards from Tiny Prints. How did we not all know about this before?!

Minted

 I have a lot of loyalty for Minted cards; we got our save the dates and birth announcements from them, and their cards always look great and modern. They are pretty comparably priced to Tiny Prints, just a little more expensive, but they offer 100% recycled paper for 15 dollars more. To me, that's worth it, and I will just buy fewer cards to cover the cost.

 Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation sells 100% recycled "Give a Tree" paper cards as a fundraiser. Every card you buy puts money towards planting trees, so not only are you preventing more trees from coming down, you are also helping plant more! I love this idea so much, though I can't really say that the designs are anything to get excited about (some designer- volunteer your time). Definitely less stylish, but think, if you did this every year at Christmas, how many trees you could help plant in a lifetime. What a sweet addition to your holiday traditions.

Etsy

We all knew I was going to say it- you still have time to buy your cards from etsy, so you can start with this search to find eco-friendly options on there as well.

A Few Other Thoughts to Keep Things Eco-Friendly (No matter where you buy)

Skip the Foil- Foil pressed cards are really pretty, and they are super popular right now. Skip them. You can't recycle them and they won't biodegrade.

Buy Less- Pick a smaller than regular number to send and just don't send them to those people on the list that feel like a stretch. It can make a big difference to just cut down your numbers to the people you really care about.

Above all, Save the Trees- With so many recycled paper options out there, it really doesn't make sense to send a card on virgin tree paper.

That's it! Christmas is kicked off and I will have a ton of ideas for how to make tiny changes to your Christmas plans that will have a big impact on the Earth. Have specific questions? Let me know and we will try to address them. In the meantime, check out the Christmas lists from last year on The Giant List of Shopping Lists.

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Bumpwatch Week 33

How Far Along: Just finished week 33! BBG is the size of a durian, and though I am pretty sure I can tell you where the head, butt, and feet are, I am not sure I could tell you which is which! His eyes can stay open, he will turn toward strange noises (not that I know this because his dad makes a tyrannosaurus rex noises at him to see if he will do it), and his brain keeps developing. Also, he is up to a solid 4-6 pounds! What a chubber!

 

Best Moment of the Week: Apple week was fun as always. I have been less brave about testing new recipes, but this week we tried Apple Curry, and it was pretty delicious. We have resolved to put more food experimenting back into the schedule, because it is fun and sometimes works out really well. We also hosted a big group of The Boy's work friends at our Apple Pancake Breakfast, so that was the closest we will get for a test run of Thanksgiving. I was glad it went really well, and we have been bumming out and getting work done the rest of the weekend (also, I am way bigger, but the big baggy sweater isn't doing anyone any favors. I apologize).

Most Interesting Prego Quirk:You are hot, literally! In the third trimester, your temperature gets high, and even though the weather is getting colder, I am not really hankering for layers. It is the first time in 11 years that The Boy has been the cold one. I don't have any complaints about this, but it is one of those weird things.

I Would Really Like Some: I am pretty happy, but this week had a lot of apple pie! The Boy is making the mobile, I am making our Christmas ornament gifts, and HGTV is on Netflix. I have no complaints!

 

Bizarro Thing No One Warned me About: It feels like every week, the whole thing gets a lot more real, and I am having a bit of a freak out now. The end of pregnancy just gets scary, and you aren't supposed to talk about it. You are supposed to be full of majestic joy and glowing from all the anticipation to meet the beautiful majestic child that is just going to change everything, etc. Maybe this happens to other people sooner, and maybe I am going to lose some mommy card for saying this, but I feel a little like I am in mourning for our life as it is, which in general I have really liked a lot. I hear I will love him a lot, but basically everything I have read suggests that when right after he stops hanging out in my uterus, he will be a bit of a jerk (I kid, sort of)

These feelings are weirdly coupled with the excitement you are "supposed" to feel (really, no one worry- I basically always go into change kicking and screaming), but I keep reading one article after another about how children change anything, wreck marriages, keep you from fulfilling your goals, etc, and I really just need to stop. Other pregos are perhaps wiser that way. It's like knowing you have to walk through a door in 6 weeks, and you just spend the entire time reflecting on what horrible thing is behind the door. On the other hand, you are bound to be pleasantly surprised (not to mention I think I will actually really be good at being a mom- I have always wanted to have kids, it's just weird that the time is here). This is probably one of the most epic dives into something new a person can take, and it seems alright to be afraid. In the name of preparedness, you learn about things you will never have to deal with and I know a lot of the challenges we will face are not even on my radar. At the beginning of pregnancy, they tell you every possible horrible that can come out of it, and you will actually experience about 5% of that. Yes, you feel weird or worse on some days, but the vast majority of your pregnancy (unless you have a really problematic one), you are just setting priorities and pushing through. It's just the prep for the big game, right?

No one warns you about this, because I am sure once they come and they are cute and have tiny feet you forget all about it, or something. But I am not worried about it, and if you are feeling this way, I don't think you should feel bad about it either. Maybe the reason other pregos all seem kind of sour is because they are also mourning their Saturday morning sleep-ins, but I feel a renewed energy to go and see movies with the Boy and have a few adventures that aren't poop-related.

And The Boy?: I think he is also grappling with the crazy reality that we are not that far out from being parents/ real adults. This week he turned on the name he has been fighting for the whole pregnancy, and I think a huge part of that was realizing that this name is not assigned to a theoretical person, but a real one who will have to live with it. Suddenly he wanted to give Bumbo Baby a really wimpy name. We worked it out, and the name is officially decided! One thing off the list!

Looking Forward to: My mom is coming to visit this week! I am excited to have her here, and we are going to put her to work (Poor woman always gets put to work) helping us move the furniture I am currently unable to help with, which means the nursery will actually be arranged, and we can get some storage and finish it up! Woot woot! Also, this week is the baby class blitz, so by the next time I do a bumpwatch, I will be a car seat, newborn care, and relationship expert (ish). 

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